If your business socials disappear tomorrow, would your website be enough to save your digital presence?
There’s an old saying in digital marketing circles: don’t build your house on rented land.
And social media platforms are the very definition of rented land—albeit with excellent foot traffic.
I’m not here to sway you from setting up shop on that side of the digital high street. The promise of reach, engagement, and exposure is real.
But so is their impermanence. 😬
Prime real estate like that always comes at a cost, and if it’s the only place you’re building your online business as a solopreneur, that cost is high.
Read on for why, in the great website vs social media showdown, placing your bets on the former sets you up to win big.
What is the pitfall of using social media for business?
Real talk: your presence on that banging account you’ve grown (with your bare hands) means exactly nothing.
Ok, a bit extreme, but the tough love truth is that your presence on any social media platform is at the discretion of third-party rules.
But isn’t social media owned media?
Yes, but also no.
It’s definitely an avenue of your owned media strategy in terms of what you share on it, but make no mistake, it does not belong to you.
Your account can be shut down tomorrow, no matter how many followers you have or the time you’ve invested into it.
You, my friend, have a landlord, and on their property, your business abides by their rules and whims.
One change in policy or an algorithm update and your visibility could be obliterated. Yikes.
So yes, social media is a business asset; it’s just not your business asset.
There are limits to how much control you actually have.
Why a website is better than social media
If you want to talk clear-cut owned media—as in, a digital space where you have complete control over how every aspect of your brand is presented—your website is it.
Your website is the G.O.A.T of owned media.
Trends and algorithms have no sway here, giving you far more scope and autonomy to showcase the very best of your brand.
And unlike your social media platform, where the lines between owned, earned, and paid media blur (🫠🫠), your website is solid.
If your social media profile is your pop-up storefront, your website is the HQ.
Your website is where potential clients can fully immerse themselves in your services, bask in your testimonials, and have the opportunity to resonate with your values (89% of consumers stake their brand loyalty on shared values).
It’s why websites excel at enhancing credibility and trust—especially for coaches and women’s health professionals. The sheer depth of information it allows for builds confidence in your audience—something that just cannot be achieved through social media profiles alone.
PLUS, the footfall you get is already interested in what you have to offer—they’ve searched for the problem you solve and clicked on it.
But there’s a catch.
A website’s foundations are long-lasting, but your business is only as strong as how you choose to build on it.
Even a straw home built on concrete can fall flat.
Why most websites fail
What makes a website better than others? SEO.
Well, that and mobile compatibility, good web speed, and responsive design.
Still, you could have the most beautiful layout, but if your website is not optimised for search engines, nobody is going to see it.
Targeted keywords, well-written blogs, user-friendly web pages, smart CTAs, and a savvy conversion strategy can take any site from meh to f%$k yeah.
No question, SEO gets you on the map, but top-notch web copy is the added pizzazz that turns a non-commital browser into a buyer—even better, a lifelong regular.
And unlike social media platforms, where content is shortlived, a well-optimised, well-written, well-invested website can generate organic traffic and leads for years.
Get really intentional with it, and your website can even strengthen your social media marketing funnel.
Oh yes, we’re not waving goodbye to your socials anytime soon.
Is social media worth it for business?
Is renting a low-cost retail spot in a hopping locale a bad idea?
Social media is a critical part of your content and marketing strategy. When smartly executed, it works exceptionally well and not just for immediate financial wins.
It opens the door to community, gets you exposure, and is an accessible way to get first-hand feedback from your target audience.
Where it harms you is when it replaces your website instead of complementing it.
Here’s three ways to work both platforms together to maximise conversions:
1. Use your socials to drive traffic to your website
Think of your social media channels as your exhibition stall.
It’s the perfect place to whip out your eye-catching displays, roll out engaging demonstrations, and showcase your expertise.
You can even kick it up a notch with some giveaways and samples.
But every post, reel, or story should serve to attract prospective clients and point them toward your real-deal business HQ.
Why? Because most people do not convert on the jump—especially not when it comes to their mental or physical health.
They need time to suss out your credentials, unique approach, and services, which is exactly what your website is here for.
Crucially, they want to know what type of experience you offer them. Yes, 88% of consumers say the brand experience is as important as the products or services. 🤯
And that requires interaction with multiple channels.
It's official: linear marketing is out, omnichannel marketing is very much in.
2. Leverage your social proof both ways
Testimonials, reviews, and user-generated content are the most effective ways to build credibility and trust. Hands down.
And with 93% of consumers reading online reviews before they make a purchasing decision, having these readily available just makes business sense.
Nothing convinces a prospect more than a real-life transformation story, and social media offers a gold mine of feedback opportunities:
Enabling Facebook reviews
Encouraging happy clients to post their positive experiences
Embedding socials on your website
Repurposing social media comments as testimonials
Just remember value trumps volume every time. 50 one-sentence testimonials saying “Thank you, you’re awesome” isn’t going to cut it.
You need clear stories of tangible transformation for consumers to buy into.
Three to five reviews praising clear specifics of working with you is a great place to start.
3. Sync your content marketing strategy across platforms
Repurpose, Repurpose, Repurpose.
If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this blog, it’s to regularly ask yourself, "How can I repurpose this content?"
And, FYI: maintaining a cohesive brand voice and messaging across your marketing channels is key to this.
Content pillars, too.
But if you nail this and get the habit of it down, you claim back so much time and headspace.
Not only does it strengthen your brand presence, it gives your audience a seamless experience, which earns you trust.
Seriously, 79% of people are more likely to purchase if the brand provides a consistent experience across devices.
Even more tellingly, the same report reveals that 75% of consumers expect to have a consistent experience no matter what channel they're on.
Yes, that does mean investing serious groundwork into developing your brand identity, but repurposing content can help you maintain it.
And then there's the added benefits of boosting SEO, expanding your reach, and creating more effective content (without burning out).
A basic example: if you’re focusing on a particular theme for one month, echo that throughout your channels in the form of webinars repurposed as blog articles repurposed as social posts repurposed as newsletters. You get the idea.
But I must stress that for it to be truly effective, copying and pasting is not it. Repurpose, not repetition.
Website vs social media: the key takeaway
Social media is powerful for reach, but it should not be the beginning and end of your marketing efforts.
And I get it, the immediate rush of likes, the feels when your following goes up, it’s addictive.
But it can go the other way, too.
And you wouldn’t be the first business to pour every effort and resource into their social media only to watch it go up in smoke. None of us are above changing tides, algorithm changes, or account hacks.
It's also worth driving home the point that linear marketing is dead. That old-school way of going straight from ad to purchase is no longer the status quo.
And marketing your business under the illusion that it is could be harming your efforts. The stats are in, the opportunity cost of NOT having more than one channel is a 10% loss in revenue.
For solopreneurs—especially in health, wellness, and coaching sectors—backing up the dynamic reach of social channels with the depth and credibility of a well-crafted website is smart.
Your website is a powerful asset that can endow your brand presence with resilience, authority, and trust.
Only build on rented spaces what you’re willing to lose. Instead, use your socials to reach audiences and flow them in the direction of YOUR owned space.
Keeping them strictly on your socials benefits the landlord, not you.
Let's not leave money on someone else's table.
They're thriving; it's your turn.